The fist paragraph contains a number of repetitions of the same word or phrase. For example, ‘so much carnage, so much suffering, so much inhumanity’. The repetition of the phrase ‘so much’ emphasizes the importance of what is being said and also makes it far more memorable and poignant. This is also a subtle persuasive technique, by saying a word three or more times it becomes more believable and thus more likely to persuade. There is stress on the ’so’ which when spoken becomes more pronounced and possibly spoken at a higher volume.
The very first phonological feature that must be looked at is the use of the word ‘we’ to capture the listener and involve them in what is being said. This continued use of ‘we’ creates a bond between Bardot and her target audience. This in turn gives her ammunition in her plight to educate on animal cruelty.
Looking closely at the way in which this speech extract is structured reveals more about the features of planned speech. One very noticeable pattern that is apparent is the use of again, the word ‘we’ to introduce each paragraph. This is a simple way to start a new part in the speech. It holds on to the reader’s attention as it’s a way of reaching out to them and uniting the speaker with the audience. Another feature of planned speech is that each new paragraph usually follows a new theme or topic. This allows for a much smoother more fluent speech that is much more understandable.
Bardot uses chains of words, one after the other to overwhelm the audience and flood their minds with words that are key to the speech. This leaves them little choice but to take in and process what is being said. Bardot has doused the speech with many emotive words and phrases which are often descriptive and highly vivid.
She uses rhetorical questioning, ’what god could want that (for our survival...)?’ This is extremely direct and provides something that will make them think and contemplate what has been said. All this time she is being confident and assertive which has the effect of making the audience trust her. She says ‘must’, this assertive word frequently adds a sense of urgency which in turn adds strength and rigidity to the speech. ’(for our survival...)?’, mentioned no less than four times during this extract and possibly more throughout the whole speech. This rhetorical question is mentioned often to create a rhythmic pattern which the brain registers and follows. This style of getting her message across is very astute as it inevitably makes one feel uncomfortable and can trigger a gilt reflex. Bardot is an actor and she knows how to wring people out emotionally.
The second verse of this speech extract highlights a speech’s best weapon, the alliteration. A widely used phonological feature that repeats the same consonant at the beginning of the word. It rolls of the tongue well in spoken lexis and keeps the smooth pace going.
To conclude I have found various different patterns and features in planned speech. I have noted various important differences between planned and spontaneous speech such as the exclusion of utterances, fillers and pauses. Also the speech shares many characteristics with written text and is much more fluent and lacks the pauses and interruptions of spontaneous speech. Another thing I have looked closely at is the use of negative emotive comments that trigger a reaction in the listener. The logical progression between paragraphs is another very important feature of a planned speech as it increases fluency and understanding. These are just a few points I touched on during this essay that are all import ingredients of a planned speech.
